The Sovereign of Purity
by Spirit
Summary: **CHAPTER TWO!!** After the American Acadamy of Witchcraft is destroyed and the survivors are sent to Hogwarts, certain students will discover what they are destined to become. Will include betrayal, tango dancing, and crossdressing galore!
1. Prologue

Authors Note: OK.. this is the prologue to a very long story that I'm going to write... I've been writing this in my head for quite a while. I finally wrote it down! Yay for me! ^_^ Please read and review, flames will be laughed at!

The Sovereign of Purity: Prologue

Draco curled up next to the hedge, and sobbed softly to himself. Where were mother and father? He was confused and scared, and he watched, bleary eyed, as many tall people walked past him, not even noticing the lost little boy sulking on the ground.

A girl about his age with dark hair suddenly walked up to him and bent over to peer into his eyes.

"Hello," said the strange new girl, "Why are you crying?" The girl cocked her head to one side and looked at Draco questioningly. 

Draco hesitated. "I've lost my mother and father," he choked out into his knee, which he had buried his face into. 

The girl looked at him oddly. "Oh. Well, I hate seeing boys cry." She smiled merrily and took one of her hands out from behind her back. Held gingerly in her hand so that the thorns would not prick her, was a rose. She held it out to Draco.

"Here you go, be careful, you don't want to prick your self on the thorns."

Draco stared at the girl. A complete stranger, much less, a _girl_ had never given him anything. He took the rose, careful not to prick himself.

"Thank you," he managed to say. The girl's smile widened, and her dark eyes sparkled.

"You're welcome," she chirped. Then, to Draco's surprise, she gracefully placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. She drew back and looked at Draco's cheek. 

"Look! I've made a little heart on your cheek!" The girl laughed. Indeed, there was a faint outline of a heart on Draco's cheek. Of course, they were too young to know how extraordinary the little heart-shaped scar was. 

Draco looked at the dark haired girl laughing, and felt strange, as if there were butterflies in his head trying to get out, and he began to feel knots form in his stomach. He started to laugh too.

The wonderful feeling that had come over him was soon over. The girl stopped laughing and looked over her shoulder. Her face fell.

"I have to go, my mommy and daddy are over there," she pointed towards a flowerbed where a worried looking couple was standing, "Maybe I'll see you again someday." She smiled and Draco felt his heart melt. He nodded. 

Draco watched the girl run off to the couple. Their faces lit up as they saw her, and she jumped into the man's arms. The man spun her around and she threw her head back and laughed, as the woman laughed too. When the man stopped spinning her around, the girl talked excitedly and pointed over to where Draco sat huddled on the ground. The man looked over to Draco and smiled. Draco immediately sat up. Then the man's face dropped and his eyes looked off to the side of Draco.

Draco looked up to where the man's eyes rested and saw his father.

His father looked down at him and frowned. Draco scrambled up to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the man whisper something into the girl's ear before they started to head for the park exit. Draco looked up into his father's face. His eyes were stern, and he looked at Draco as if he had just done a terrible crime. 

"Come Draco," he said through clenched teeth. He firmly put his hand on Draco's shoulder and began to lead him to the opposite park exit that the girl and her family had gone through. 

Draco fingered the heart scar with one hand, and still clenched the rose in the other hand. He opened his fingers and looked down at his palm, where some of the rose's petals had pierced his skin. Scarlet blood had begun to come through the wounds. The red spots stood out violently against his pale skin. 

He closed his hand back around the rose and looked up to see his mother standing at the park exit tapping her foot impatiently and scowling. Draco's parents said nothing to him, but his father whispered something into his mother's ear that made her face go pale. They quickly glanced at Draco, then started putting invisibility charms on the broomsticks that would carry them home. When they were done, Draco mounted behind his father on his father's broom. They took off on the long way to Malfoy Mansion.

All the way home, Draco was deep in thought. He kept thinking about the girl. He remembered her parent's happy faces when they had seen her. Then he remembered his parent's scowls and their suspicious whispers to each other.


	2. Tonight

For my fabulous beta readers and friends, Stalker, Jamzz, and Kaeli J (Go visit them!! Leave lots of reviews on their stories!!)

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters or places mentioned, or the song "Tonight, Tonight." I do, however, own my characters Jordan, Eli, Catty, and whoever else you didn't recognize. o.o That is all! Enjoy. ^_^

The Sovereign of Purity Chapter One: Tonight

_Time is never time at all  
You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth  
And our lives are forever changed  
We will never be the same  
The more you change the less you feel  
Believe, believe in me, believe  
That life can change, that you're not stuck in vain  
We're not the same, we're different tonight  
Tonight, so bright  
Tonight  
And you know you're never sure  
But you're sure you could be right  
If you held yourself up to the light  
And the embers never fade in your city by the lake  
The place where you were born  
Believe, believe in me, believe  
In the resolute urgency of now   
And if you believe there's not a chance tonight  
Tonight, so bright tonight  
We'll crucify the insincere tonight  
We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight  
We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight  
The indescribable moments of your life tonight  
The impossible is possible tonight  
Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight_

--Smashing Pumpkins, "Tonight, Tonight"

***

"Jordan! Jordan, jeez, wake up! "

Jordan felt someone shaking her shoulders. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the blurred figure of the person who had hissed into her ear. Once she refocused her vision, she recognized the stressed looking face of Eli hovering above her. 

"Huh? Wussa matta, where'd da fire?" Jordan mumbled, rubbing sleepily at her eyes. Eli pulled her to her feet and off the bed with trembling arms. 

"Somebody's invaded the school, I heard explosions and screams coming from down stairs," Eli whispered hoarsely, now leading her quietly towards the door of the girl's dormitory. "We've got to get out of here."

Jordan blinked as Eli led her to the door. Explosions? Screaming? What the hell had Eli been smoking? 

Then she heard it. A large bang followed by screams. The school only had two floors, so most of the time you could hear whatever was going on below you if you were on the second story. And what could be heard was terrifying. Screaming pleads for mercy, unsympathetic, gruff voices refusing and making harsh threats, then demanding something, but Jordan couldn't quite make out what they were saying exactly. 

Eyes now wide with horror, Jordan followed him, unquestioning. Keeping a firm grasp on her hand, he led her out of the girl's dormitory. Jordan was too sleepy to notice that most of the girls' beds had already been emptied, for after hearing the explosions, the other girls had left to fend for themselves. 

Eli and Jordan crept through the hallways silently, careful not to run into anyone. Jordan's heart pounded violently inside her chest, and Eli's hands were cold and clammy with anxiety. The halls were completely dark, except for an eerie red glow that seemed to give off a heat of its own. Both of the teenagers slinking about the hallways of the American Academy of Witch Craft and Wizardry, United, had no clue of what was giving off the red glow. 

A lot of the walls had been crumbled. Cold blasts of night air blew in from holes in the ceiling or in the walls that remained, but the holes were only as large as a child's leg, and weren't wide enough to crawl through. 

Every so often, they would pass a bloody corpse of a student or a teacher. Jordan could feel the bile rising in her throat, but she swallowed it down. She wanted to scream, wanted to throw herself onto the floor and hold the victim's head in her lap and weep, but couldn't. They continued onward through the red tinted hallways.

As Eli and Jordan passed the Potions Lab, a thick green smoke began to fill the air around their heads, giving off a sickening stench. Jordan hid her nose with the sleeve of her nightshirt, which didn't help much, being that it was made out of a flimsy silk. The smoke shimmered and sparked slightly, as if to spite them. A large spark suddenly crackled from the smoke. 

"Get down!" Eli hissed grabbing Jordan's waist and pulling her down to the floor. A few seconds later the green smoke burst into an exquisite array of emerald green flames. The tongues of the fire licked the walls, melting them and emitting more of the foul odor. The fumes drifted from the walls, feeding the fire; slowly decreasing their chances of escape from the magical flames. Very quickly, they crawled away from the Potions Lab, the hallways now glowing with green radiation and still the mysterious red aura. 

The exit of the school had never seemed so far away. As the two escaping teenagers neared their goal, the red glow grew brighter and warmer, and they began to hear the screams become louder. 

A figure in dark robes swept by them. It was not one of the teachers; none of them were that tall. Eli and Jordan pressed up against the wall, hiding in the shadow of a statue of some random wizard, not daring to breathe. The figure stopped for a moment and looked around to see if there were any more victims it could suck the life out of. When the figure passed them, they let out deep, shaking breaths, glad that they hadn't been spotted. Jordan squeezed Eli's hand so tightly he swore that he could feel his fingers turning blue. 

They continued crawling towards the exit, praying that their luck would keep with them. The exit of United was located right next to the Dining Hall, and from their position, Jordan and Eli would have to go past the Dining Hall in order to escape from the school. 

The closer they got to the Dining Hall, the hotter it got. Panicked screams grew louder, filling their ears with ringing. Eli felt Jordan's ice-cold fingers grasp his hand tightly in a shaking way. They turned the corner that would lead them to the Dining Hall and the exit and stopped dead. Fear pulsed through their veins, telling them to be careful of what was around them and beyond. Suddenly Jordan's legs refused to move; ignoring the signals her brain was sending to them, telling them to run.

The merry, welcoming and cheery room of the Dining Hall had been turned into the smoldering pits of hell. Tall, dark figures like the one Eli and Jordan had run into before were all over the place, pushing and dragging around students. Again, Jordan wanted to scream and cry helplessly. 

Jordan recognized one of the screaming victims as Johana O'Lhi, a girl from her arithmancy class. A tall figure was holding her two feet above in the air and pressing her against the wall, her body helpless to escape. Johana's graceful facial features were bent and twisted into a look of hatred, fear, and agony, her limbs hung uselessly from her body at odd angles. The Figure shook her so that her head banged against the wall, refusing to crush into dust. Johana let out a cry, as the Figure repeated his demand. 

"Where is she?" it said in a raspy voice that sent shivers up Jordan's spine.

"I told you, I don't know dammit!" Johana obviously felt there was no use in being polite as she was very clearly going to die anyway. 

The Figure dropped Johana to the ground. She lay there, in a crumpled heap. Jordan by instinct started to move forward. But then she felt Eli's stone grip on her arm and stopped. She looked at him and saw tears in his eyes. Silently, they moved toward the door to the outside of the school. 

Jordan felt it was a miracle that no one was guarding the door. It was quite stupid on the people who were running this operation's behalf. 

Jordan began to feel a heavy presence of darkness around her, as if someone familiar was carrying a heavy burden of evil. Suddenly Jordan became dizzy. Eli became a blurry mass. Things started spinning around her and she felt a white hot pain ripple through her chest. She let out a startled gasp and everything faded to black. 

*** 

_Jordan sat in a black, unknown room. She was dressed in a very simple white dress. She looked at her hands and wrists. Stunning silver rings sat on each of her fingers, a brilliant gem imbedded in each intricately molded piece of silver. Sparkling silver bracelets hung from her wrists, seeming to give off a light of their own. _

Looking around, Jordan realized she was sitting at a large polished oak dining table. It was delicately carved with exquisite designs of various magical creatures. Jordan vaguely recognized dragons, unicorns, and fairies, as well as many other creatures she did not know the name to. The table was long enough to fit a good amount of people, about thirty or forty. No one else seemed to be sitting at the table, although there were many chairs lined along the sides of it.

Jordan just sat there for a while, looking about in a confused yet at ease manner. Suddenly, people started to fade into the seats, most of whom Jordan could recognize, but none of which she could name. She was positive she knew them, but yet she felt as though they were hiding their identities from her. Jordan searched her mind for names to match with the faces of those seated at the table. When she could not, she became so frustrated that a sharp twang of a headache shot through her head. 

"Ugh..." she moaned, and pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead. 

"Are you alright, Sovereign? " One of the people in the chairs next to her asked. It took Jordan a few moments to realize that the woman had been talking to her. She raised her head and shot a queer look at the woman. The woman had black hair tucked into a neat bun, and looked very stern. 

"W-What did you j-just call me?" Jordan stuttered. Sovereign? What kind of people were they?

"Sovereign, your Ladyship," the black-haired woman replied curtly.

"Sovereign... sovereign of what?" Jordan questioned dumbly.

"Why..." a heavy built man spoke up. "The Sovereign of Purity of course, the one who will lift us all out of the darkness!" 

"Aye!" A man with long silvery hair and beard exclaimed. "Here's to the Sovereign!" He lifted up a wineglass that had just suddenly appeared, and lifted it in a toast. 

Choruses of "Aye!" and "To the Sovereign!" were heard up and down the table as all the people lifted and tapped glasses. Chink sounds filled the air. And Jordan sat there, feeling deliriously stupid. Suddenly she started shaking, harder and harder until-

"Jordan!" 

***

Jordan's eyes fluttered open. Again, just like the time before, the sight that met her eyes was Eli's long, handsome face, only this time a bit more calm. She grasped his hand and took a long, shaky breath, recalling what had happened. "What's up?"

Eli blinked at her. "What's up? Well... our school was destroyed, our classmates murdered, and you collapsed just as we were about to escape."

Jordan's eyes widened and she sat straight up. She just then realized where she was. They were in a hospital room, in a wizard hospital. She was still in her pajamas. She ran a hand through her dark hair, which had been washed and combed. 

"What... exactly happened after I fainted?" Jordan asked, rubbing her eyes.

"I picked you up... Carried you through the exit, and once we were outside, I took that underground passage; ya know the one under the sycamore tree? To Lyracuse... From there, you were taken to the hospital by some wizards and witches who noticed that I was carrying you, and then I reported to the nearest wizard officials what was happening to our school. You weren't out for long; it was only yesterday that all that happened… That's all of the story that I know." 

Placing the pieces of the picture together, Jordan felt sick to her stomach. Eli was such a hero... if any lives were saved during that horrible senseless rampage it would be because of him. She thanked her lucky stars she had a friend like him. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Oh Eli..." Jordan flung her arms around his neck. He hugged her and kissed the top of her forehead. Shamelessly she cried into his shoulder. It was all sinking in now... 

Most of her friends were probably dead, if not all, except for Eli. Her school, her beloved school, was destroyed; the place where she had learned the most important lessons in her life and not just class lessons. There were some psycho killers running around America, and not ordinary psycho killers, psycho killers with magic. 

But most of all, there were questions. Who were the people who had attacked their school? What did they want? How did they get in? And most importantly, why? Why United? Why now? Why had she fainted? Jordan knew there were plenty of hexes and charms and wards to protect the school... she was mystified. 

Jordan's web of thought was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She let go of Eli's neck and he stepped back. A tall thin witch dressed in white hospital robes entered the room, followed by a very busy and tired looking wizard in plain gray robes that displayed the Ministry of Magic badge. 

"Hello dears," said the witch with a warm look, walking over to fluff Jordan's pillows and straighten her sheets. "Woken up have we? Very good…"

Jordan opened her mouth to ask about her mother, but the witch seemed to have mind reading abilities. 

"Both of your parents have been informed. They should all be arriving soon." The nurse finished fluffing Jordan's pillows and glanced at both the children with a steadied look, as if trying to relay some mental though of encouragement. 

Jordan realized that most of the wizarding world probably knew what had happened by now. She gazed dreamily out the window. Trees blocked her view of most of the outside world, but she could tell it was daylight. A mother bird flew to her nest, and dropped a worm to the mouths of her screeching baby birds. Jordan felt her stomach growl, and it dawned on her that she hadn't eaten since yesterday's lunch- she hadn't eaten dinner. Jordan wondered if birds had three meals a day; beetles for breakfast, worms for lunch, flies for-

"This is Mr. Pomel, a wizard from Britain who will assist you with your situation," the nurse said, gesturing to the wizard, and breaking Jordan from her daze. Having said what needed to be said, the nurse turned and left the two bewildered teenagers with the wizard from Britain.

Mr. Pomel was a nervous looking man. He fiddled with a handkerchief in his lap while the nurse walked out. When the nurse closed the door behind her, he looked up at the two children. 

Mr. Pomel cleared his throat. "I must say nothing like this has ever been recorded in the wizarding community. Surprisingly enough, no Dark Mark was found over the scene, and officials are unsure who would have had enough power to commit this crime," the man's face looked hesitant as he said that statement, as though he were hiding a fact from them. He continued. "Right after this young lad reported what was going on at your school, throngs of Aurors were sent to United. But already everyone that had committed the crime had previously fled. Most were found dead, but a handful of students and teachers were recovered."

"How many?" Eli asked. 

"About one hundred students, and 8 teachers," the wizard glumly replied.

Jordan shuddered, thinking about the full dining hall, nearly six hundred students talking excitedly and enjoying their meal, while the long table of twenty-five teachers remained controlled and looked over the students. An image of a dark shadow looming over the cheery dining hall formed, and Jordan watched in her head as tables of students went up in flames, sparing only a few, and teachers rushing to help them were all burnt to a crisp. Jordan uttered a small cry and shook her head to clear the image that was burning a hole in her mind. 

Eli's arm around her shoulder broke her from the painful apparition. Jordan focused back on what the Ministry Official was saying. 

"Because it is only July 2nd… the school year has only begun, and if you wish to continue studies with students your age, you will have to be transferred to another school. The three schools in Europe, Hogwarts, Bauxbatons, and Durmstrang don't start the school year until August 1st. I will discuss arrangements with your parents when they arrive."

Jordan and Eli nodded obediently. They did not want to get held back a year and study with students a year younger than them, they knew that they had to continue their learning this year.

As if on cue, Jordan's mother and Eli's parents burst into the room. 

"Jordan!" Jordan's mother's frantically searching eyes rested on Jordan and before the girl knew what was happening, her mother's arms were thrown around her. Jordan returned the embrace and buried her face into her mother's hair. Finally, here in her mother's arms, Jordan felt safe. She broke down and cried clinging to her mother as if she were a child mourning for a pet's loss, but this time it was hundreds of multitudes worse. 

Jordan felt her mother stroke the back of her head. "It's all right honey… you're alright now…" Her mother's soothing words couldn't stop Jordan's tears. It felt like an eternity before she couldn't cry anymore. Even after she had dried up, Jordan lay in her mother's arms for a few minutes before she realized that Eli and the others were probably waiting for her to recover. 

Jordan pulled away from her mother who looked down at her and smiled. "That's my girl," she said, brushing a strand of hair away from Jordan's puffy tear-streaked face. Jordan smiled weekly at her as her mother took a seat next to Jordan on the bed. She was a fairly tall woman, slender in build with a gentle posture. Jordan thought she was beautiful, with her long, dark hair that was straight but curled ever so slightly inward at the tips, and was always pulled back into a ponytail. Wide brown eyes and thin, shaped eyebrows peeked out from under naturally curly bangs. The same freckles that Jordan found when she looked in the mirror were sprinkled over her nose and rested on the top of her cheekbones. 

Mr. Pomel and Jordan and Eli's parents began talking about the crisis. Again, Jordan drifted off into her own thoughts. She wondered what this meant to the wizarding world. Mr. Pomel had said no Dark Mark had been found over the school… did that mean that there was a new enemy? She thought about her dream… was she really the Sovereign of Purity? Who was the Sovereign of Purity? Did her dream even mean _anything_? Her questions circled each other and each time her answers to herself were full of holes. Finding herself worn from her questions and the conversation of the adults, Jordan nestled her head on her mother's head and fell into a dreamless sleep.

***

Harry looked somberly out his bedroom window. He longed to be back at Hogwarts, the Dursley's weren't helping the sense of impending doom that hung over his head with their sour looks at him. Dumbledore had forbidden that he visit the Weasley's this summer, because Voldemort had many eyes around the wizarding world who would be waiting for Harry to make just the slightest wrong move so they could abduct him and finish him off. Harry sighed and wondered why Voldemort wanted to kill him so badly.

Looking at the dull street of Privet Drive, Harry thought of the irony of his situation. _Fifteen and already fearing a horrible death_, he morbidly joked in his mind. Had he really only just turned fifteen three days ago? Harry felt a century old, knowing he had been forced to grow up too quickly. _Well at least I have birthday presents!_ He reminded himself, desperately trying break the gloomy atmosphere. Harry had had a better birthday than usual, which cheered him up somewhat, but again his happiness didn't last long for he thought people were afraid they needed to be extra nice to him this birthday, just incase it happened to be his _last_ one.

Hermione had surprisingly enough not sent him a book, but a broom case. It was black, with a golden image of a stag emblazoned onto the cover. Ron had bought him a wizard's chess set (in hopes that Harry might actually become a worthy opponent), and had also sent three chocolate cakes his mother had made, in addition with samples of some of the twins' new products for the Wheasly Wheezes. Harry hadn't touched the Blue Skin Truffles yet, although he had had fun with the Bubble Burp Bubblegum and Squirrel Poppers. Harry had gladly suffered through a supposedly harsh punishment of no meals for two days (Which wasn't so bad, seeing as he had the cakes.) when a blue squirrel had found its way into Dudley's bed. 

Hagrid had finally given up cooking and had sent Harry Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a pair of brand new Quidditch gloves. A large and colorful toucan had brought Sirius's gift of a hand-woven bag, perfect for carrying Harry's schoolbooks around. 

Harry's eyes strayed to his pile of birthday gifts and luggage. Already, he had packed up his belongings and was ready to go to Hogwarts. August 1st just couldn't come soon enough. 

Hedwig's empty cage sat atop Harry's trunk. Harry wasn't worried about her, he was sure that she was sleeping restfully in a tree somewhere. After all, it was only four in the morning: only three hours until the sun rose. He turned his head back to the window where he found too bright amber eyes staring straight back at him.

"Yeeeegh! Harry exclaimed softly as he jumped back, as to not wake up the Dursleys. His fright was in vain though, for as he looked back at the window, he realized that they were only the gleaming eyes of Hedwig. Sighing with relief, Harry opened the window and let her in.

Hedwig gave a soft gratified hoot, then nipped Harry's finger as if to punish him for even fearing her.

"Yeah, I'm sorry Hedwig… I'm just a big jumpy," Harry tried to explain to the flustered bird. She cluttered angrily at him for a second, and then motioned to her leg where Harry noticed that a copy of the _Daily Profit_ was attached. Harry quickly relieved the snowy owl of her burden who clucked a thanks, then hopped into her cage and started pruning her feathers with her beak. 

Lying on his bed, Harry unraveled the wizarding newspaper. Hermione had gotten him a subscription, insisting that he had "really better pay more attention to the news, now that Voldemort's got his power back." Fortunately, there were no articles about mass murders, no Dark Marks had been found yet. This relieved Harry, but he still felt tense and had the feeling that Voldemort was just waiting for the right moment. 

The front-page article sent a shock of electricity through his body. He felt his arms and legs go numb as he read the headline title:

_United, American Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Attacked and Destroyed!_

The title enough was enough to make Harry nauseous. Next to the article was a picture of the American school, colorful flames soaring up from what seemed to be a just the frame of a building. Although he didn't feel he needed to read the rest, Harry continued.

_

At one a.m., Arizona, U.S.A, the school of United, American School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was attacked. A total of 467 students were killed, along with 17 teachers. A mass murder on a school like this has never been recorded 

_

The investigation of this crime started when two brave students, Eli Ao and Jordan McKensey, managed to escape the school under attack and report to wizarding officials. Throngs of Aurors were sent to United, but were unable to catch anyone who had taken part in this crime. It was as if the attackers had just vanished. Even more mysteriously, no Dark Mark was found over the school. Ministry officials are dazed as to who would have enough power to wreak this much havoc other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who has been alleged to have risen again according to the information sources have provided. Ministry officials suspect that the attackers had an inside source. 

Harry relaxed a little. Voldemort had not attacked the school, which was good. But on the other side, there was a new mysterious dark force looming in the shadows. And it had already made its first move. He continued to read the article where it described how the Ministry was looking into the case, briefly sketched different ideas and opinions from trained Aurors on who could have attacked the school and why, and explained how the surviving students would be transferring to Hogwarts. _Well, looks like we'll have some new students in our year…_ Harry sighed inwardly. He hoped that this new catastrophe and the added worrying of whether or not Voldemort would burst into the school and kill them all wouldn't put a damper on the year. Harry highly doubted it wouldn't. 

The black-haired fifteen-year-old boy looked forlornly out the window at the dark blue sky that was just beginning to lighten up and show the first signs of day. He knew in America that the sun must have already started to rise. Harry wondered how the survivors of the heartrending attack on United would handle this new issue in their lives. Harry wondered if the kids from America would fit in at Hogwarts. He also wondered if they would gawk at him like the students at Hogwarts had when they first met him. Harry suspected they would. 

Again, Harry looked at the window and dismally thought of who had caused this sudden change in the world. He wondered if perhaps the force behind this crime had larger intentions than to just cause havoc. Maybe it was a distraction from another event. Maybe it was just a starter of a great chain of Earth-shaking events. 

Glancing at the nearly full moon, he resolved that in dealing with the forces of evil, anything is possible.

*** 

Draco sat on his bed and glared at the newspaper lying in front of him with such intense loathing that if it were alive, it would have scurried off in terror.

The silver-blond haired boy had hardly spoken to his father all summer after he had heard of Potter's adventure. Draco knew it was true that the Dark Lord had risen again; his father hadn't talked of much else. Death Eaters were often invited over for banquets to celebrate the return of the Lord Voldemort. It made Draco sick. 

Sure, before all he had wanted to do was follow in his father's footsteps, but this summer he had truly thought about his ideals and opinions. 

Following after his father dumbly seemed like a coward's way of handling things. Draco had seen the way Potter was shaken after Cedric's death. Even though he hated the other boy, he despised even more seeing any soul so oblivious to the world because of his sadness. Knowing that Draco would be causing that sort of pain to people on a daily basis if he stepped into the black hole of his father's life made him feel as if he was being thrown headfirst into a dense pit of despair and loneliness. 

Feeling confined in his bedchamber, Draco moved out to the hallways, tucking the newspaper article into his breast pocket. He walked aimlessly around the manor, and noticed the dreariness of his house for the first time. The eyes of the portraits painted of many of his ancestors irritatingly followed him throughout the corridors. One portrait of a young woman, appearing of Veela decent, aggravated the boy the most. Draco rounded on the portrait and defiantly stared at the woman. She giggled and batted her eyelashes seductively. Draco read the name under her picture;_ Larilla Malfoy_, and felt nothing. No pride, no attachment to the proud memories of Malfoy victory recognizing his ancestors should bring. 

Draco ignored the flirtatious portrait and turned to the window opposite it. Leaning out of the window, he let the cool morning breeze blow through his hair. The hum of dawn was just beginning, and the excited sounds of birds chirping across the winds to each other made Draco feel free and liberated from his confines. Confines of his house, confines of his father's morals, the confines of being a Malfoy, and being counted on the uphold the family honor. 

In that moment of feeling open, Draco realized what he needed, what he wanted. Draco needed something to fight for, something that was his. Everything he had owned or had ever known came from his father. No secrets could be concealed from this force of darkness that was always looming over his shoulder, watching the boy's every move. Draco needed something that he could love. Something that he would love enough that he would defy his father for it. Draco had his own life, and for some time he had been letting his father control him, use him. It was time to stop this. 

When and where he might find his sanctuary, his unvarying platform, or whether it would be a place, a right, or perhaps even a person… Draco didn't know, but he knew that he needed some firm grounds to set his feet upon, a true constant in his life. 

Removing the article on United from his pocket, Draco studied it for a while. Perhaps this tragedy would unearth a new foundation for Draco to start building upon.

***

Sunlight filtered through blue and white-checkered curtains onto the blue and white-checkered sheets of Jordan's bed. Slowly, the rays of sunlight crept up the length of the bed onto the head of the slumbering girl. As the light reached her eyes, Jordan rose up like a zombie awoken from its eternal slumber. Blinking dumbly a few times at the morning sun like she had never seen it before, Jordan realized that her mother must have put her to bed after they had left the hospital. She vaguely remembered Eli carrying her to the car.

Grinning peacefully, the yawning, heavy-eyed girl stepped out of bed and rubbed her eyes. Slowly, Jordan walked bare-foot across the wooden floor of her bedroom to the window whose light had awoken her. She looked with warmth out at the streets of Sister Bay, a tiny town in Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Michigan. Jordan had been raised here, knew all the good places to swim and all the best stores to satisfy her sweet tooth. She had met her best friends here, Catty and Eli, and had grown up near the water where she had had the best times of her fifteen-year-old life. Jordan watched the peaceful streets and marveled at how unknowing all the people were at the tragedies that had happened less than two days ago. The thought-burdened girl wished she could be that oblivious. 

Jordan felt her stomach growl. She realized that she hadn't eaten in the last day and a half. Without bothering to change out of her silk Hello Kitty pajamas, she made her way down to the kitchen.

The kitchen was one of Jordan's favorite places in the house. One wall of the kitchen was a glass sliding door that provided a view of their lake front property. The sunrise reflected brilliantly on the clear blue waters of Lake Michigan. Already, early risers were out on their boats. Jordan remembered how she, Catty and Eli had always sailed to Strawberry Island on the weekends during the summer and had had picnics. Jordan's eyes strayed to the dock. She had gotten the letter that she was invited to attend United on that dock. Jordan remembered the fear she had felt when she was introduced to the idea of leaving her beloved hometown to go the school in Arizona, a state as different as hers as night from day. 

Jordan trudged over to the fridge, memories weighing heavily in her mind. Before opening the door, she noticed her mother had left a note on the front. _Hah… she knew the first thing I'd do was head for the fridge._ Jordan mused as she read the note that briefly described that her mother had gone out to finish an art gallery deal, and to pick up tickets for a flight to London, where Jordan would go shopping for school supplies and stay with Eli until the school term, at Hogwarts, her new school, started. 

Jordan rummaged through the refrigerator stuffing random food products into her mouth: pickles, mushrooms, celery, left over spaghetti; whatever she could find. After she was content and felt like she would pop, Jordan wandered into the living room and flopped down onto the couch where she just wanted to rest and think.

Unfortunately, the rest of the world did not want her to rest. The ringing of the phone shattered any hope of tranquility that Jordan might have had. Grumbling, Jordan reached over her head (Thankfully, she didn't have to move much.) and grabbed the phone, bringing the receiver to her mouth.

"Whatchoowant?" 

"Well, I can tell we're cheerful after our little adventure, aren't we?" Catty's bittersweet sarcastic voice seeped through the receiver like molasses. 

"Joyful days are here again," Jordan sighed, grinning slightly and rolling her eyes. She and Catty had always had their ways with sarcasm.

"Eli told me what happened. It makes me sick, and I don't even go to your school." Catty and Eli were cousins. Eli's mother and Catty's father were twins, who had both come to America from China after getting married. Although Eli's mother and father were magical, Catty's parents weren't. The two sets of parents generally stayed away from each other, but the two cousins had stayed close. 

Jordan sighed. "Yeah. It was horrible… be glad you weren't there." Jordan shifted positions on the couch. "I'm so worried… I keep thinking of the parents of all the kids that died… And not only the parents… just, everyone who was close to them. And I'm scared too, the people who did this had power, and they didn't just do this for fun… that's for sure. And now we're going to have to go off to Britain… and I thought Arizona was far away! Life is tough, C."

Catty sighed on the other end of the line. "Well… I don't know anything about this magic stuff, but I do know you're my friend, and I'm worried about ya, J. Need anything just call, kay? I gotta go now; mom wants me to make breakfast. As if she couldn't put down her darned romance novel and make it herself." Catty grumbled.

Jordan giggled. She could just imagine the long black haired girl rolling her eyes at her mother sitting on a chair reading some corny book titled, _Passion Before Reason._

"Thanks C. I'll talk to you later. Hugs." The two girls said their goodbyes and hung up. Jordan sighed and shifted again so that her head was hanging off the edge of the couch and her knees were locked over the back of it. 

"Oh what to do, what to do…" Jordan pondered out loud, wiggling her toes and reveling in the dizzying sensation of all the blood rushing to her head. She stared at the blank TV screen and blinked a few times. "Ohhhh! Spanish soap operas upside down. Yes." Jordan grinned and clicked on the TV, giggling at the distorted faces and expressions of the upside-down Spanish soap opera stars. 

***

The air was thick as two figures stood at the window of an ancient abandoned, burned and decrepit church, looking at the recently risen sun with hatred. The sun just barely began peeking into the window when the two figures fell back into the musty darkness of the aged room of worship, now used as the headquarters of evil.

"She has been revealed, Master. Right in front of my eyes too," the Hands informed his Master. The Hands held up a small orb, showing His Master the image of a dark haired girl. The Master gave a small huff of laughter.

"So she is their Sovereign. She still hasn't grown much…" the Master smiled eerily at the Hands who returned it with a grin. 

"Soon _our_ Sovereign will be revealed, right Master?"

"Yes. Our Gatherer has already been found, and I trust you to be able to turn her over to our side, what with your _convenient _relocation." The Hands smirked at his Master and bowed his head. 

"I will do my best."

"And I will continue looking for the rest of the Tainted. Perhaps we shall even collect all of our kind before the Innocents are gathered." The Master turned his head and looked out the window again.

"That would give us quite an advantage in the Opening of the Tomb." 

"To be sure. Let us pray that the Old Forces will guide us." 

***

Author's Note: HURRAH! I **finally** got this chapter up. ^_^ Happy happy. Please leave reviews, I won't continue if I don't get some feedback, people! This fic is planned to go on for many parts… I hope this chapter didn't completely give away the plot. o.o And I know you guys are skeptical about original characters… but Jordan won't be a Mary Sue, I promise! ^^ Hopefully the next chapter will not take as long to finish as this one did. O.o Yup…so… REVIEW! DO IT DAMMIT! BAH! 


	3. Meetings and Conflicts

For Ama and Stalker, my great beta readers. ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this and am not making money off it.  I do own, however, Blue Skin Truffles, United, Jordan, Eli and Kumori. Don't sue me, I'm funny.

The Sovereign of Purity Chapter Two: Meetings and Conflicts

_Beautiful, you're beautiful, as beautiful as the sun  
Wonderful, you're wonderful, as wonderful as they come  
And I can't help but feel attached  
To the feelings I can't even match  
With my face pressed up to the glass, wanting you  
Beautiful, you're beautiful, as beautiful as the sky  
Wonderful, it's wonderful, to know that you're just like I   
And I'm sure you know me well, as I'm sure you don't  
But you just can't tell  
Who'll you love and who you won't_

_-Smashing Pumpkins, "Beautiful"_

King's Cross Station was abnormally hectic on the morning of September the first. The hallways were packed with busy, hurrying people. There especially was quite a traffic jam between platforms nine and ten, because there appeared to be a young girl sitting on a large trunk right in the middle of the hallway between the two platforms. People passing by looked at her oddly, but said nothing. 

Jordan looked around, searching for any signs of a family that looked as if they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express, but found none. She had managed to get her taxi cab driver to drag her corpulent trunk to the station- but seeing as he was a Muggle, she couldn't let him take it all the way onto her train. So she sat there- making a scene in front of the Muggles- with no way to get her trunk to the train. 

Even though people surrounded her, Jordan felt alone at that moment. The two months had passed by so quickly. Merely thirty days after the attack on United, Jordan had boarded the plane with her mother that took them to the U.K. And only a week after that, her mother went back to America, for she had work to finish back at home. Secured away in a room at the Leaky Cauldron, Jordan was free to wander the streets of Diagon Alley alone for three weeks. She rendezvoused with Eli once in a while, and also had her meals with him, as he was also staying at the Leaky Cauldron. But most of the time Jordan was by herself, which wasn't altogether horrible. After a catastrophe like the one she had experienced, she felt she should spend more time with her family and the ones she loved, but mostly needed time to remember who she was. Jordan liked being by herself, it gave her a sense of where she was in the world, and rejuvenated her positive outlook.

"Hey Jordan!" Startled, Jordan gave a little jump of fright, but then settled down when she saw the cheerful face of Kumori. Kumori was a girl a year ahead of Jordan, and half Japanese. Although the two had never been too close, Kumori had introduced Jordan to many of her favorite things- anime, manga, sushi, as well as taught Jordan to defend herself. Although Kumori had a tendency to b selfish and vain, Jordan held great respect for her. 

"Hullo Kumori," Jordan said, smiling cheerfully. She eyed Kumori's trunk- it was twice as big as hers-, and Kumori was pulling it along as if it weighed no more than a breadbasket.    

Kumori stood there for a while, humming and rocking back and forth on her heels. She then noticed Jordan eyeing her trunk and sitting on top of her own trunk helplessly, and pieced together that Jordan's trunk was too heavy for her. 

"Need help?" Kumori questioned, offering her hand. 

"Absolutely," Jordan smiled appreciatively and hopped off her trunk. In amazement, she watched Kumori lift her trunk clear into the air, and place it on top of her own luggage with ease. Noticing Jordan's queer look, Kumori pointed to her arm and smiled.

"Strength potion," she explained nervously. 

The two girls made it through the barrier easily, and Jordan followed Kumori across the platform to the train, wildly looking about for Eli. Finding no traces of him, Jordan made her way to an empty compartment with Kumori. Jordan took the window seat and looked through the glass, knowing that _eventually _Eli had to come on the train, and waited for him to make an appearance. 

Kumori and Jordan made small talk for a while as they waited for the train to make its way out of London. They talked about when new manga and animes would come out, what they had bought in Diagon Alley, anything to stray away from the subject that was really tugging on their minds… United. When they felt that the conversation was headed for that subject, Jordan could sense Kumori jerk it in another direction. 

At about half past noon, a whistle sounded, signaling that the train would be leaving soon. Jordan looked out the window, searching for Eli once more. What she saw was a mass of kids, sobbing and saying their goodbyes to their families, greeting their friends, finding their way onto the train; but no Eli. Jordan's heart sank when the train gave a jerk, and started to leave the platform behind. 

"Here we go!" Kumori chirped. "Off to start our lives over again. See new places, meet new people, do new things. Aren't you excited? I always get shivers up my spine when I feel like I'm starting over." To emphasize her point, Kumori shivered pleasantly. Jordan turned her attention from the window and smiled amusedly at Kumori. Even though she felt that the older girl talked maybe a little bit too much, Jordan was grateful for the company. 

"Ron, I don't understand _why _you refuse to sit with my friends!"

Startled by the angry voices outside of their compartment, the two girls turned their heads toward the door of their compartment. 

"_Why?! _'Oh, Malfoy's changed so much over the summer!' 'He's so _cute!'_ Honestly, I haven't even seen him yet and already I'm sick of him!" Shouted a voice that appeared to be Ron. 

"It's O.K. Ginny- O.K. Gin- GET OFF YOUR BROTHER! O.K… Let's just find a new compartment. No problem…" Another male voice tried to make peace between the quarreling ones.            

Abruptly, the curly-haired head of a girl popped into the compartment.

"Er… can we share your room?" The girl asked hesitantly.

Kumori and Jordan looked quizzically at each other, then at the girl. Jordan was the first to speak up.

"Of course! We'd love to have company." The girl smiled appreciatively, swung open the door- then quickly hopped out of the way. A mass of robes and fiery red hair tumbled into the compartment- Jordan realized it was actually three people- two with red hair grabbing at each other violently, and a black haired boy desperately trying to pry the two apart. Finally, the third wheel was able to get the other two off each other and Jordan observed that they were a boy and a girl and appeared to be siblings- both with the same flaming hair, same freckles, same flushed cheeks- but with very different eyes. The girl had wild green eyes, while her brother had eyes the color of soft blue. They immediately started ignoring each other and putting themselves back together. 

The boy with black hair turned around and jumped when he saw Kumori and Jordan sitting there. The two quarrelers also then noticed the two and both began to blush and suddenly become very interested in their shoes. The curly haired girl reappeared and hesitantly looked at the red haired siblings.

"Uh… sorry about that," the black haired boy started. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter." He halfway cringed at his last name, as if he expected Kumori and Jordan to jump on him. Jordan was a bit shocked- already; she had met the famous Harry Potter! She and Kumori stood up.

"Wow, Harry Potter. It's an honor to meet you." Kumori smiled and shook Harry's hand heartily. "I'm Kumori Nøkkel. She's Jordan McKensey," Kumori said gesturing to Jordan. Jordan smiled and waved shyly. 

"Good to see some fresh new faces. So you're from America?" Harry asked hesitantly, noticing their accents. The two girls nodded solemnly. A sorrowful silence followed their reply. Then, a coughing noise was heard from behind Harry, and he turned around to see his three companions looking at him expectantly. 

"Oh! Right, and this is Hermione Granger, and Ron and Ginny Weasely." Harry said, gesturing to the three others in order. More greetings were made by Jordan and Kumori. After the frenzy was over, they all settled down and chatted.

"You know, I think the whole Malfoy bit by Ginny's friends was probably blown out of proportion," Hermione dictated wisely. "I mean, how can he transform over the summer from a greasy slime ball to a heart throb?"

"Right Herm. Of course," Ron said, "A bunch of hormone driven girls just decide a greasy slime ball is worth drooling over. I'll believe that when I see it." 

***

"Now now, don't worry girls… I'll be right back," Draco lied to pry himself away from the hormone-driven mob and move to the door of the compartment. "There is enough of Draco Malfoy to go around." Giggles were heard from the group of Slytherin girls, and seductive dirty comments were said just loud enough so that Draco could hear as he slid the door shut.  

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Draco moved down the hallway. It was nice to be away from the mindless lumps of Crabbe and Goyle; in fact, he felt he could get used to being alone. 

But the fact was, Draco was bored. Without Crabbe and Goyle around, there was no one to chuckle stupidly at his jokes or to look menacing when terrorizing younger students. Draco pondered what to do besides wander around idly when a thought came to mind: _Potter. _That was the perfect thing to keep him amused; a good row with Potter and his Potterettes was always exciting. Draco just had to find him… 

Draco heard laughter coming from one of the compartments. _Perhaps… Potter does hang with those two Weasley twins- always up to their goofy pranks. _Pressing his ear up against the door from behind which he had heard the laughter, Draco listened intensely. 

"-you should have _seen _the look on Malfoy's face!" Draco recognized Ron Weasley's voice. More laughing. Now was time for his dramatic entrance. Draco swept the door open and leaned against the doorway.

"Really, Weasel? And what _did_ Malfoy's face look like?" 

The words fell dead as soon as they left Draco's mouth. The room stopped for a moment. Draco gave a somewhat lurch forward as a powerful force seemed to twist his insides. He began to feel an odd sensation in his stomach, like butterflies; or lightning. Draco tried to move forward but froze; he was rendered motionless. Somehow, something was telling him, deep inside, that there was something special about where he was and whom he was with at that very moment. He paused for a moment to take in the surprised, and equally frozen faces of the six inhabitants of the compartment: four he recognized, two he didn't. His eyes focused on the two girls he had never seen before.

They were both stunningly different: beautiful in that unique way; like no one would ever come close to their allure. The girl with raven black hair and intense blue eyes set off something of… a warning to him, maybe.  She seemed oriental in decent… but with a trace of European lineage. Draco could tell she was wearing makeup- but she wore it in some way that it looked natural- like she had been born to wear makeup, and it was necessary for her; as it might just be something a normal girl only applies for effect. Something didn't sit right with Draco about her. 

Draco then looked at the other girl and felt a sensation more intense than the lightning butterflies in his stomach; a numbness like hundreds of bubbles exploding into his head like champagne. She had natural, radiant beauty: not like the unnerving beauty of the first girl, but a beauty that put him at ease, and made the world at that moment seem like it wasn't such a bad place after all, and that everything would be all right in the end. Draco stared into her eyes, and found she was intensely staring back with her dark, dark, passionate brown eyes. The outline of her pupil was hard to distinguish, as it was so close to the hue of the iris. Her hair that seemed wild, yet oddly right and well put together, framed her ivory face like the mane of a black lion. The freckles that were sprinkled across her nose and cheekbones stood out vividly against her pale skin. Draco felt some bond being uncovered between them, like something lost being found again, something familiar, like he had felt something like this long before… 

As quickly as the numbness that had frozen them had begun, it ended. Rapidly, Draco felt that he could move his legs and mouth again. Somehow, he managed to finish his insult.

"I'm sure it couldn't have looked much worse than yours." Draco spluttered out, his need to be better than Weasley not seeming significant anymore.          

Quickly snapping to his senses, Ron ignored Draco's snide comment and retorted angrily, but just has sloppily, "Well, if it isn't Malfoy the Amazing Bouncing Ferret. Come to show us more of those clever tricks of yours?"

"Why yes, Weasley. But I'm charging for them you know- oh, I guess that counts you out. Your family still couldn't afford to buy you new robes, I see." Brought back to earth by Weasley's comment, Draco felt like himself again, observing the other boy's tattered robes. Draco smirked as he watched Weasley's face turn red. 

"What do you want Malfoy?" An agitated Harry stood up and boldly stepped toward Draco. The latter shrugged and smirked lazily.

"I read in the _Daily Prophet _that students from America were coming to Hogwarts," Draco motioned to the two girls in the corner of the compartment, "I figured you would abduct some into your little clan."

Walking past a flustered Potter, Draco moved towards the two American girls, his eyes fixed on the dark-eyed one. She looked back at him, and Draco felt a slight reminisce of the bubbly feeling he had felt before when their eyes had locked. 

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced," Draco said, producing his hand properly and keeping eye contact with the dark-eyed girl. "I'm Draco Malfoy, and Weasley has been telling you all about me, I see." He shot a smoldering glare at Ron who looked like he had swallowed one too many Fizzing Whizzbees before returning his gaze to the girl. 

Jordan returned the blond boy's stare. There was something, _something _about him that she was sure she recognized. She had felt it the moment he had walked into the room: a frightening, pleasant, dizzying sensation that froze everything. And when he looked at her- it seemed like everything thing was still but spinning around and around in circles at the same time.  Her eyes had swept over him, and if it wasn't for the dreadful things Harry and the others had already told Jordan about this boy in front of her, she would have thrown herself at his feet and proclaimed him her god. 

Draco's hair was as fine and pale as a unicorn's hair- it fell into his eyes just enough to give an heir of mystery without seeming hirsute. A slightly pointed chin and clouded gray eyes gave him an edge of evanescent sadness. But the heavenly frisson Jordan felt was ruined by the smirk on Draco's face, which made it evident that he was clearly of this world and not the sort of character that would be called an angel after being gotten to know better. But his gaze as he stood in front of her now with his extended hand was enough to send shivers down Jordan's spine.

Slowly the girl stood up, holding Draco's intent gaze. She looked so small and young next to him- but she had an heir of wisdom and wits about her that made her look her age at the same time. Draco looked down at her and he watched as she grasped his hand with one of hers. She shook his hand with determination.

"I'm Jordan McKensey. I'm sure I'll have an…" she paused and looked over Draco, "…interesting year here at Hogwarts."       

The other inhabitants of the compartment looked on in horror as Draco smiled at Jordan- not quite a genuine smile, but an amused one- and she smiled back. Draco returned her firm handshake, her glittering eyes pressing into his.

"All right! That's enough Malfoy," a hysteric Ron grabbed Draco's collar and began dragging him to the door. "Buh-bye now! Don't forget to fall off a cliff and get eaten by rabid wolves!" Ignoring a protesting Draco, Ron pushed the shorter boy out the door. 

Draco pushed Ron back and straightened out his collar. "Fine Weasley, I'll leave. I'll see you when we get off the train." Draco smirked and strutted down the train as Weasley shut the compartment door behind him.  The image of Jordan McKensey's glittering dark eyes remained in his mind.

He wasn't quite so bored anymore.

***

Ron rounded on Jordan with a flushed face.   

"_What _were you doing?" he breathed, gawking at her with wide eyes. "You do _not _want to get friendly with Malfoy. He'll turn on you in an instant."

Jordan blinked confusedly at him. Maybe it was because Ron had known Draco for the last four years, but Jordan couldn't see what he was so upset about. From the stories they had told her, Draco did seem awful, but in person… he was quite stunning, really. 

"Er- sorry… Won't happen again, scout's honor," Jordan saluted Ron and returned to her seat next to Kumori, who looked put out at not being able to introduce herself. 

"Don't worry my friend, you'll have many more people to introduce yourself to later," Jordan comforted the pouting girl, putting her elbow on Kumori's shoulder.

"He was a cute one too…" Kumori whined, crossing her arms. Next to her, Ginny choked on her chocolate frog. Everyone watched her in alarm as she proceeded to cough.

"Malfoy—," cough, cough, "—is not—," cough, cough, "—cute." Ginny cleared her windpipe of the chocolate frog and continued to look disgusted with the fact that Kumori had called Draco Malfoy, of all people, _cute. _"His father gave me Tom Riddle's diary so that he could open the Chamber of Secrets," Ginny shuddered at the painful memory, "Malfoy was probably in on it too."

"Well… I must say, the smirk he wears on his face really does not do justice to any of his features," Jordan said, agreeing with Ginny that Draco certainly was not cute. _More like beautiful._ Jordan mentally kicked herself at the thought. If people could speak of him _this _hatefully, he must not be a pleasant person. 

Kumori sighed. "What a waste of a great physique." She turned to Hermione and Ginny. "Are there any gorgeous guys around here who are _not _evil bastards?" The two girls looked thoughtful for a moment, while Harry and Ron looked at them expectantly. 

Hermione spoke up first.

"Well, there is—"

But she was interrupted as the door to the compartment swung violently open on its hinges, and in bustled two more red heads.

"—them." Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes at the pair of flustered boys as they hastily shut the door.

"Quick everyone! Quiet!" One of them motioned to the group that was already in the compartment and pressed his ear against the door with his companion. 

In the few tense silent moments that followed, Jordan studied the two boys that had just entered the compartment. Like Ron and Ginny, they both had red hair, freckles and red cheeks; but unlike Ron and Ginny, they were _exactly the same._ Jordan rationed that they must be twins; and somehow related to the brother and sister.

The twins listened intently to the hall outside the compartment, and as Jordan strained her ears, she could faintly hear the sound of footsteps thundering down the corridor. The footsteps grew louder and louder until they reached right outside of Jordan's compartment; where they paused. The person outside the door breathed heavily and mumbled angrily to them self.

"I know you guys are around here _somewhere_! You can't hide from me forever, Fred and George! _You'll pay for this!" A girls voice announced to the train. The twins looked at each other and grinned mischievously: Jordan presumed they were Fred and George. The footsteps started again, and whoever had made the declaration moved down the hallway._

When the footsteps had completely faded away, the twins gave hearty sighs of relief and turned to face the rest of the compartment. 

"Well!" One of the twins beamed when he recognized who was in the train. "Hullo my dear siblings! Harry and Hermione! Two… other people!"

"Hi Fred!… or George," Harry said confusedly.

Hermione eyed them suspiciously. "Who was that girl, and what havoc have you been releasing?" 

Fred and George grinned devilishly. "That was Angelina," Fred said, "We gave her a Blue Skin Truffle. Unfortunately, it only turned her hair blue." He winked at Harry. "I guess you didn't try them, eh Harry?" Harry laughed.

"No, I'm afraid Aunt Petunia would have forced me to take baths and scrub my skin until it turned red instead of blue if I had."

"That is a shame," George replied, his eyes straying to Jordan and Kumori. "Hey! You haven't introduced us to your friends." His eyes focused on Jordan and he smiled, turning a little red.

At the thought of an introduction, Kumori jumped up excitedly. Grabbing George's hand hysterically and shaking it with great enthusiasm, Kumori gave the twin the brightest smile Jordan had ever seen on the other girl's face. 

"I'm Kumori Nøkkle," Kumori said cheerfully, still vigorously shaking George's hand, causing his whole upper body to shake. 

"N-n-n-nice to m-m-m-meet you," George smiled shyly at her, a little overwhelmed by her gusto. His eyes went over Kumori's head, where they fell on Jordan. He smiled at her with a much warmer smile than he had given Kumori, and he gave her a sort of pleading look. Jordan blushed slightly. A bad feeling was beginning to arise in her stomach…

Jordan arose from her seat, stepped forward and tapped Kumori on the shoulder. Getting no response from the robustly hand-shaking girl, Jordan tried again, jabbing her finger into the other girl's shoulder blade.

"Yow!" Kumori spun around and glared at Jordan, who grinned apologetically.

"Give the boy a break already, will you?" Jordan said, as she watched Kumori go immediately red. Murmuring an apology, Kumori moved on to greet Fred; somewhat less enthusiastically. 

Jordan stood there awkwardly in front of George, who was still smiling at her affectionately, shuffling her feet. "Sorry about Kumori there… she's been deprived of boys for the last few months. It's beginning to get to her."

George laughed warmly. "It's alright. I'm used to it, if you know what I mean." He grinned and winked at Jordan, who giggled. She held her hand out to the tall redhead. 

"I'm Jordan McKensey," she said for what seemed the millionth time that day as George took her hand.

"George Weasley. Easily mistaken for Fred Weasley," he smiled goofily at Jordan, dreamily shaking her hand and staring at her as if in a sweet reverie. Moments ticked by as he stood there gazing at her and holding her hand, while Jordan began to feel a little uncomfortable under the stare of his eyes. Her eyes fluttered around the room, refusing to make eye contact, with the fear of hurting his feelings by showing her restlessness. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like George was quite ready to let go of her hand yet. 

Jordan looked fleetingly at the others in the compartment: Kumori was talking animatedly with Harry, and she shot Jordan with a piercing stare. Jordan gave her puppy eyes, signaling for help. Kumori beamed and rushed over, breaking Harry off in mid sentence.

"Say, _George!_' Taking him by surprise, Kumori came up behind George and put her hands on his shoulders, putting her weight—but it seemed to Jordan as if she was hardly trying at all—on the boy's back, forcing him down to the black-haired girl's eye level. "I hear you and Fred are quite the tricksters. Why don't you tell us some stories?"

George regretfully looked away from Jordan, but smiled and joined his brother, ready to excite them with a Weasley Wheezes tale. Once again, Jordan gratefully slunk back into her chair. She watched amusedly as the twins spiritedly reenacted one of their pranks, but didn't really listen to what they were saying. She twitched unconsciously each time George's eyes strayed in her direction. 

Jordan's minds strayed to Draco. She hadn't felt uneasy when he had looked at her… only excited, jittery, and dizzy. Somehow it felt… right when he looked at her, unlike how she felt queasy when George's eyes found their way to hers. Was that a good thing? George seemed like a much warmer person than Draco… but he didn't stir the feelings in Jordan that Draco had. 

Kicking herself mentally, Jordan forced her attention back the story the twins were telling.

"—And then mum said—"

"THERE YOU ARE, YOU RUFFIANS!_ I'M GOING TO KILL YOU TWO!" _

Angelina Johnson had swung open the compartment door and burst into the room, her blue hair blazing against her dark skin. Jordan could see Kumori stifling a giggle. The twins grinned nervously at the furious girl that had interrupted their story. 

"Oy, Angelina, no—she said—," protested Fred, looking jittery.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAID," Angelina roared, grabbing the collar of each twin with one of her hands, "You're coming with me!" By now the entire compartment was giggling at the sight of the blue-haired girl releasing her fury on the two twins. 

"Well, sorry folks! Looks like we have some—Ouch! —Unfinished business to attend to," Fred waved merrily to the room before being dragged out by the fuming Angelina. George waved too, and cast a last dreamy look at Jordan before being yanked away. Jordan heaved a great sigh of relief that she hoped wasn't too noticeable to the others in the room.

Kumori bounded to the door and waved down the hallway. "Bye George! See you later!" she yelled cheerfully to the helpless twin, before turning to the others in the compartment. "They're nice," she sighed happily before taking her seat next to Jordan. 

Jordan rolled her eyes and grinned at Kumori. "Yeah, we could see your affection when you nearly shook the brains out of poor George."

"Well it's not like _you _weren't goggling at him—"

"_I was not goggling at him! _He was goggling at _me!_" 

Kumori looked sick with jealousy. She opened her mouth, thought better of it, and instead stomped her foot angrily and threw herself into her seat, scowling. Jordan did likewise and crossed her arms over her chest. Together they looked like angry toddlers deprived of their much-loved candy. 

Ginny giggled and turned to Hermione in the seat next to her. "Now I know why Harry and Ron roll their eyes when _we _fight." Hermione laughed.

"Yes, it does make arguments among girls seem silly," she agreed. Jordan and Kumori's scowls deepened.

Suddenly, a knock at the door broke them from their angry tension. Eli's head popped into the room.

"Have any of you seen—ah! There you are Jordan!" 

Jordan beamed as soon as she saw her friend's face. "There _you _are! I was looking for you!" Jordan got up and stepped forward to welcome him into the compartment. Eli slid the door open and Jordan stopped as he stepped into the room—with someone hanging on his arm. It was a girl—about Kumori's age, with black hair and striking friendly Chinese features. Harry gulped and started fidgeting nervously when he saw her. 

"Oh! This is Cho. Cho, this is Jordan," Eli introduced them, gesturing between the two girls. Jordan smiled at Cho who smiled back. "Sorry I didn't meet up with you earlier, J. I just sort of ran into Cho—"

Cho giggled and looked amusedly up at Eli, "Yeah, literally." Eli chuckled too and continued his story. Out of the corner of her eye, Jordan saw Harry flinch when Eli's arm made its way around Cho's shoulders. 

"And we started talking and found we have lots in common—"

"We both love Quidditch and were born in China! And he also reads _The Chronicles of Narnia, _my favorites!" 

Cho had all the enthusiasm of a woman who had just found out she was pregnant. The eagerness was obviously contagious as Eli and Cho both burst into fits of laughter. Jordan smiled at Eli's newfound happiness; then looked at the others in the compartment. Harry was about to rip the cuff of his robes off the sleeve; Hermione and Ron were smiling nervously, their eyes twitching from Harry to Cho; and Ginny was grinning, and looked like she was trying to hide it. Jordan was a bit taken back by their odd behavior, but as long as Eli and Cho didn't notice, she didn't let it bother her. 

"Hey Cho," Harry squeaked from his corner, smiling sadly and drawing Cho's attention to him, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

The Chinese girl's giddy smile immediately softened into a gloomy expression. "Yes," she choked, forlornly looking at the floor. "It has been a hard summer," she looked back up into Eli's face, entwining her fingers into his, "For all of us." 

A long, melancholy silence followed, in which everyone refused to look at anyone else. Kumori and Ginny were expressionlessly gazing out the window, while everyone else stared blankly at the floor or at a wall. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Cho were all remembering the tragic death of Cedric. Jordan, Eli and Kumori cast their eyes downward as they thought of all their lost friends from United that had been so cruelly taken away from them too soon.  Cho finally broke the lachrymose stillness of the air.

"So, do you know what houses you guys want to be sorted in?" She asked, directing the question to Kumori and Jordan. They blinked blankly at her.

"Houses?" Kumori asked, speaking what was on Jordan's mind. 

"Haven't you read _Hogwarts, A History_?" Hermione spoke up. 

"Hermione, get with the picture already! No one's read _Hogwarts, A History _except you!" Ron said exhaustedly, rolling his eyes.   

"Well they _should! _It's very interesting, for your information."

"If you're such an expert, then you should explain the houses."

"Well," Hermione started, turning to Kumori and Jordan, "Hogwarts was founded by two witches and two wizards: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. To organize students, they created four houses, one for each founder. Students are put into houses depending on which founder they most resemble."

"Neat," Jordan said dumbly, "So what houses are you all in?"

"I'm in Ravenclaw," Cho said proudly.

"The rest of us are in Gryffindor," Hermione said smiling. 

"How are we sorted into houses?" Kumori questioned. 

Jordan watched as the Hogwarts students exchanged evil glances with one another. 

"Oh, a you have to go through a series of tests—"

"Wrestle a troll—"

"Perform hexes—"

"Name goblin rebellions—"

"Answer riddles—"

"Duel vampires—"

The six students paused for a moment as they thought of more ridiculous tasks that would have to be performed during the sorting. Kumori folded her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. 

"I'm afraid pulling our legs won't work, my friends," she said skeptically.

Ginny chuckled. "I guess that only works when you're a terrified and gullible first year."

"What do you really have to do?" Jordan asked.

"You'll find out all in good time," Cho said, winking. "Oh! And it looks like it'll be soon. Look!" She pointed at the window. The sky was beginning to darken and the rolling hills had considerably slowed down, signaling the train was getting ready to stop. As they watched the hills go by, the train grew slower and slower until it came to an abrupt stop and a shrill whistle blew. 

Ginny turned to the three American students and smiled. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

***

Tadaaa! And that's chapter two folks. Thanks to my rabid fan base! *waves to invisible people*I love you guys! Mwuh! Mwuh! Well… now for the questions I'm sure you've all been asking yourselves! How come Kumori was so nervous about her explanation of her strength? What's going to happen between Jordan and Draco, Jordan and George, and Kumori and George? Is there going to be one of those annoying love triangles, dammit?! Will there be some sort of romance between Eli and Jordan? How will Eli and Cho's relationship progress? How will Harry deal with this? What will Angelina do to poor Fred and George? Will Ron ever read _Hogwarts, a History? _What houses will Jordan, Kumori, and Eli be sorted into? Stay tuned to find out… 

See that button right there that says "Click Here to Submit Review"? CLICK IT!


	4. Of Singing Hats, Cryptic Dreams, and Mag...

The Sovereign of Purity

Chapter Three: Of Singing Hats, Cryptic Dreams, and Magic Socks

Author: Spirit

Author Email: khlepoer@telocity.com

Categories: action/adventure, romance, drama

Keywords: America, Draco, Jordan, Eli, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Kumori, tainted, Hogwarts

Rating: PG

Spoilers: All books

Summary: When the American Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry, United, is destroyed, certain students (British and American) will discover what they were destined to be. Tango, dancing, betrayal, Sex-Switching potions, evil fathers, and cross dressing galore. 

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. 

Author's Note: Sorting and lots of fluff in this chapter. Not the romance fluff, the kind of fluff that protects things in packages, the bubble wrap kind. ^^ Things will get more exciting soon, I promise. X.x;; bear with me through this boring chapter. And thanks to Stacy for bothering me a lot and making me finish this chapter. ^^

The new students at Hogwarts varied greatly this year. While there was a majority of first years, there were also scattered second to seventh years, immediately recognized as American transfer students. Most of them looked weary and gloomy. The others looked uneasy and lonely. All of the students standing in the cramped and small corridor looked slightly queasy. The room was filled to capacity with students spilling out into hallways and various nooks around the room, as there were twice as many students this year than it usually held. 

Jordan was wedged between Eli and a wall, fidgeting nervously, not unlike many of the first years. Kumori was across the room talking with another American girl. Glancing worriedly at his friend beside him, Eli put a hand on Jordan's shoulder, which was difficult to do as they were all pressed into the room like sardines. Jordan jumped and looked up at him with wide eyes, and faintly reminded him of a hamster crammed into a too-small cage. Eli chuckled softly at the image. Jordan frowned at him.

"What's so funny? Something on my face?"

"Nothing nothing…"

"Tell me—," Jordan stuck out her lower lip and gave him large puppy eyes, but it had no effect on Eli, "—come on don't refuse my pouty face—you're asking for it mister!" She furiously started poking his stomach and other sensitive body parts, causing the older boy to twist and squirm. He desperately tried to fight back, but was losing. Giggling madly, Jordan managed to poke him down into a crouching position, and Eli hugged his knees, trying to protect himself from her attack. The two had gained stares from the other inhabitants of the room by now: partly because of Eli's shrieking pleads for her to stop and also because they were jostling the other students around them in the already snug space. 

Jordan's unceasing attack only stopped when the two tall doors at the front of the room swung open. Professor McGonagall, who had led them from outside of the school into the small corridor, stood in front of them. She cast a glance at the students and Eli immediately stood up, furiously trying to pat his hair back into place. 

"Form a line please," the professor instructed, "and follow me."

McGonagall turned on her heel and began to walk forward as the students hurriedly organized themselves into a somewhat sloppy line. They filed out of the room and followed the professor reluctantly: Jordan could tell by their faces that most of them were just as tense as she was. 

The small corridor opened up into a short hallway, a great relief to the cramped confines of the previous enclosure. Jordan looked at the end of the corridor where light streamed in from the next room. As the line of students grew closer to the room ahead, Jordan could hear merry laughing and talking growing louder. At the end of the tunnel the new students were met with a glorious sight. 

Before them was a wide dining hall that seemed endless in volume, as the ceiling, Jordan guessed, was enchanted to look like the sky. At the moment it was a hue of purple with pale starts just beginning to show their light, as the sun was almost done setting. Hundreds of candles floated in midair above four long tables, one for each house. Jordan spotted Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny at the Gryffindor table sitting next to Fred and George. They waved and she smiled, trying to act like she hadn't seen George wink at her. From in front of her, Eli waved to Cho at the Ravenclaw table. Jordan looked at the other side of the room and her eyes fell on the Slytherin table, full of shifty and cunning looking characters. Among the heads she spotted Draco Malfoy's silvery one, talking to a heavily makeup-clad girl. Jordan could tell he wasn't really paying attention to what the girl was talking about. His eyes drifted around the room lazily, as the girl made wild gestures in the air. Draco's restless eyes eventually came to Jordan. Quickly she looked away, but not quick enough to see the languid smirk crossing his face. 

Jordan turned her attention back to what the line of students was doing. It had now come to a stop, and the new students all looked terrified as they waited for more instructions. Professor McGonagall disappeared into a room off to the side for a moment and then returned; carrying a stool and a pointed hat that looked like it had seen better days. 

Moving to the center of the room, all eyes were on Professor McGonagall. Reaching the central point of the room, the professor set down the stool and placed the hat on it. Jordan watched in wonder as a rip near the brim of the hat opened wide; and began to sing. Jordan paid rapt attention to the hat, as it explained the houses and how it would sort them. Immense relief passed through her as she realized that the sorting process was much easier than the others had tried to convince her on the train.

As soon as the hat had finished his song, the entire hall burst into wild applause. Jordan stifled hysterical laughter, as she found nothing funnier than singing inanimate objects. She was relieved that all they had to do was try on the hat to be sorted.

Professor McGonagall began calling out students to try on the hat. "Ao, Eli!" Was first, and Eli left the line and made his way to the hat, casting Jordan a look that read, 'Wish me luck.' He stepped up to the stool, placed the hat on his head, and sat down. Jordan watched with the rest of the room as he sat there, the hat drooping over his eyes. After a few moments the hat opened it's mouth again and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" 

Jordan watched confusedly as Eli removed the hat and walked over to the roaring Slytherin table. Sly? Cunning? She studied the inhabitants of the Slytherin table again. Yes, they all looked sly and cunning, but _Eli_? Was that really the house he belonged in? Jordan looked at Eli who waved and smiled at her before taking a seat next to none other than Draco Malfoy. Draco looked at her again and sneered, giving her a look that she could imagine drawling in a singsong voice, "_I've got your fri-end…" _Jordan made a face at him, and his sneer widened. Furiously, Jordan returned her attention to the sorting. 

The Gryffindor table roared as a first year joined them, and then the Ravenclaw table did the same as an American student joined their ranks. Jordan fidgeted nervously as, "Martigan, Mortimer!" joined the Ravenclaws, and "McDevit, Riley!" became a Hufflepuff.  

"McKensey, Jordan!" 

Removing herself from the line, Jordan nervously made her way up the hat. Fumbling slightly, she placed it on her head and sat on the stool, waiting apprehensively for something to happen.

"_Ah…" _a voice in Jordan's ear whispered, startling her slightly, "_What an interesting case we have here… I haven't seen someone like this since… well, never mind… Wise and true, you would make an excellent Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff… Ho ho, but we don't always work hard do we?" _Jordan rolled her eyes inside the hat. It was beginning to sound like her mother. _"Well, there's plenty here to make up for idleness… very cunning, you always do what ever it takes to get what you want… but Slytherin's not for you." _Jordan sighed thankfully. _"Yes, bravery and strength is most dominant in here, so it better be _GRYFFINDOR!"

Jordan heard the last word ring throughout the entire hall. Smiling happily, she made her way over to the hooting and whooping Gryffindor table. She was greeted enthusiastically by several members, then made her way over to Harry and the gang; taking a seat between Ginny and George. They all congratulated her joyfully, especially George. The uproar quickly quieted down as everyone turned their attention back to the sorting. 

Jordan watched as Kumori was sorted into Ravenclaw, but quickly lost interest in the sorting, distracted by the ceiling. The sky had darkened to black by now, and the stars shone brilliantly. Jordan could make out familiar constellations, including all of the Seven Sisters, which, on a regular night, could not be seen. 

"It's stunning, isn't it?" Jordan turned her attention to George, who was clearly speaking to her.  

"Absolutely. United was very boring, a new modern school," Jordan sighed remembering her school, "It was luxurious, but wasn't nearly as interesting as this place." 

George smiled. "Yup, this place is one of a kind." 

They sat there in silence for a while, heads turned up towards the ceiling. It reminded Jordan of lying in the grass next to Eli and Catty, staring up at the stars for hours… Jordan found herself lost in the stars, remembering those peaceful summer nights. She drifted into her own thoughts of twilight and warm nights, oblivious to George watching her, the end of the sorting, and the welcoming speech made by Professor Dumbledore. Jordan was only brought out of her daze when the room burst into talking and motion, and the delicious odor of food awakened her senses, making her mouth water. 

She blinked at the food then began piling various meats and vegetables on her plate. Jordan hadn't bought anything at the cart on the train on their way to the school, and discovered she was very hungry. She filled a bowl with tomato soup and quietly looked on at her new housemates. Spooning the soup in her mouth, Jordan watched Ron tease Hermione and then her make a remark that turned his face red. Jordan watched amused as Ron caught sight of Fred slip something down Ginny's back, and then howl with laughter as Ginny danced around, trying to get the item out from her robes. After much jiggling around and many odd looks, a bright red squirrel hopped out from under Ginny's robes and rapidly turned into smoke. Jordan snorted into her soup as Ginny, with her face as red as the squirrel, returned to the table and promptly poured pumpkin juice onto Fred, who continued to laugh hysterically along with the rest of the gang. 

The rest of dinner was a blur of new faces and goofy antics put on by Fred and George for Jordan. She occasionally joined in the conversation, but was used to keeping to herself when meeting new people. Eventually, dinner ended and all the stuffed students were led to their common rooms by prefects. Drowsily, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all flopped down on chairs around a table as Fred, George, and Ginny went off to converse with students from their years. Not knowing anyone else from her year, Jordan went to sit with the trio who smiled as she sat down. After a moment of silence, Harry spoke up.

"So, Hermione, I guess you didn't go to Bulgaria with Krum then." Hermione nodded and blushed. "Parents wouldn't let you?" 

"No, it was fine with them," Hermione said, "But I told him I wasn't interested in him like that." At this, Ron turned very red and he sat forward in his chair. 

"You mean you broke up with him?" he asked, "After all the attention you got at the ball and the 'Herm-own-ninny's?"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron—you of all people should be _glad _I broke up with him," Jordan noticed that at this Ron shifted nervously, his eyes fixed intently on Hermione, "What with all your 'mingling with the enemy' and 'traitor' hogwash. He just wasn't my type." She shrugged. 

Ron smiled triumphantly and sat back in his chair. "I knew that Bulgarian boy wasn't up to par. But of course no one listens to _me_." Harry laughed. 

"Yeah well, I seem to remember you idolizing him with the rest of us before he became a champion." 

Jordan looked on in confusion as the three quarreled. She remembered reading about the Triwizard Tournament, about how Harry was illegally entered, and how things had gone wrong, ending up in the untimely death of Cedric Diggory. Jordan turned her attention back to the trio.

"Whatever Hermione," she caught Ron snapping.

"Whatever yourself Ron, and you can take your whatever and shove it up your-,"

"YEEP!" 

A large, orange ball of fur had launched itself into Jordan's lap, and was currently pawing her legs with sharp claws. "Owch!" Jordan screeched, trying to push the orange mass off her lap, but to no avail as it was now quite situated, it's claws dug into the material of her robes. 

"Oh! Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping up and also trying to pry the bunch of fur off Jordan, and as Hermione managed to detach the thing off of her, Jordan realized it was a cat as it opened it's large yellow eyes and began to emit a low purr. 

"Is that _your _cat?" Jordan rubbed her sore legs and glanced over to see Hermione nodding and stroking the large cat. "It's er- friendly." Jordan said, examining the holes in her robes and brushing orange fur off in large clumps. 

"Just a ray of sunshine," remarked Ron sarcastically. 

"Ron's just sour because his last pet was evil," said Harry solemnly, "And Crookshanks didn't succeed in eating it." 

"But now I've got a non-evil little fluff ball of an owl," said Ron. "That was named 'Pigwidgeon' against my will." 

"Poor Ron," Harry said, patting the other boy on the back, "At least I got to name my owl."

"I wish I had a pet," Jordan sighed. "Mom thinks I'll kill it. I mean, it's not _my _fault I forgot to feed the hamster for a week…" She frowned. 

Harry chuckled. "Funny thing about animals, need to be fed on a regular basis." He shrugged. "Nature."

"You're making fun of me now," Jordan said grinning slightly. "Just because you British men have a sexy accent doesn't mean you're smarter than us silly Americans!" At this she stood up and shook her fist dramatically. Giggles from other American girls around her rippled throughout the room as Jordan sat back down and coolly leaned back in her chair. Hermione giggled. 

"Damn those sexy accents. Probably why I fell for Viktor."

"Hermione… Krum's accent was _not _sexy!" 

"Says _you, _who was head over heals for _Fleur! _'Oh zat is so _coot! _Oh 'arry, zank 'ou for saving my sizter!' Bah!"

"Well at least she could say my _name _right!" 

As the two bickered Jordan shot a look across the table at Harry and raised her eyebrows. Harry met her gaze and rolled his eyes at his two quarrelling comrades. It was clear that he had witnessed many accounts not unlike this one. 

Jordan watched as a little light bulb went off in Harry's head. "Hey," he said, trying to get their attention, but the pair continued bickering. "_Hey. _HEY!" Ron and Hermione stopped in mid-squabble and looked at him, alarmed. 

"Yes Harry?" Hermione asked. 

"Question. What did you do with our little bug… friend?" At this Hermione grinned mischievously. 

"Ah yes, Rita. I released her. She is very grateful for our silence, and she swore to only write _true _and non-slanderous information from now on," Hermione smirked. "But I did have to shake the jar a few times."

Jordan watched the trio laugh at their inside joke and immediately felt a sense of loneliness. Back at United she would get every inside joke, she knew everyone and always felt right at place. But here at Hogwarts she knew no one… she was lost and had no one to turn to that would be able to help her out. It was because everyone that she knew was just as lost as she was, all just trying to find a way through this difficult time. 

_"Well…"_ Harry said, noticing that the direction of their conversation was leaving Jordan out. "What's your favorite class Jordan?" 

"Well… I guess I really like Runic Studies, Charms and Transfiguration… always handy," Jordan replied, glad to be back in the discussion. "Any teachers I shouldn't get on the bad side of?"

_"Snape," _they all replied in unison, their tone matched with shudders. 

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What does he teach?"

"Potions," Hermione said. "Down in the freezing dungeons."

"He's evil," Ron added. "An ex-Death Eater. Lord only knows why Dumbledore trusts him."

"And he's head of Slytherin house," continued Harry. "And favors them above everyone else, especially Malfoy. And he's always trying to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job." Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.

"It's getting riskier and riskier every year, especially since we have trouble keeping Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers," Hermione said sighing. 

"Really?" Jordan asked, "How come?"

"Well," Ron said, and began ticking off on his fingers. "First one was evil and was harboring You-Know-Who on the back of his head, second one was a snooty lying git, third one was a great teacher but was a werewolf, and the last one was evil and pretending to be someone else."

"Speaking of which, did anyone see the new teacher at the professor's table?" Harry asked. 

Hermione shook her head. "No, I looked but there was an empty spot." 

"Guess they haven't arrived yet," Ron said shrugging. "But they better get here soon, classes start tomorrow." 

Harry nodded. "Let's just hope that Snape hasn't gotten his dream job." 

Jordan blinked for a few minutes, taking everything in. "Well, what a colorful operation you run here." Jordan said as Harry smiled. 

"If you think our teachers are interesting, wait till you hear about how we helped them lose their jobs." 

Jordan straightened up and leaned forward on the table. "Ohh, do tell." Harry laughed.

"Maybe when we get to know you better," he said. 

"Yeah," Ron added, "We have to know you're trustworthy."

"Can't go around spilling our secrets to everyone you know," Hermione said, winking. 

Jordan grinned, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. "Well then, I think I'll be hanging around for a long time."

***

Eli followed the rest of the Slytherins down into the dank and musty dungeons. Several torches lined the walls, casting long shadows on the students in the hallways. Eli was a bit on edge—United had not had a basement, much less dungeons—closed, dark spaces were not his ideal place to be. He looked next to his side at Draco Malfoy, who was completely calm and looked at place in this cold, bare place. Every thing about him was cold—the way he talked, the way his face was at ease, the way he walked, his skin, his hair, his eyes… everything of him gave off a frozen aura, like he was untouchable—ice not able to melt. Eli turned away from the younger boy when he realized the procession of students had stopped. 

The Slytherin in his year that was leading the other students had stopped in the middle of the hallway. He now turned to an empty wall, and said loud enough so that the others could hear, "_Grindlewald." _Eli watched as the wall slid back to reveal a doorway. They hadn't used passwords in United; every student had instead an enchanted card that only they could use to get into their assigned dormitories, which was a method thought to be more reliable that passwords—although some tricky students had found ways to get around this restriction.

Eli smiled sadly as he remembered his old school, and followed the rest of the Slytherins into the common room. The common room gave little relief to the dark hallways—the only light coming from the green lamps scattered around the room and little head coming from the fires burning in the fireplaces along the walls. 

Draco coolly walked over to one of the chairs next to a fireplace and sat down. He could feel Eli follow behind him—Draco had become acquainted with him as soon as he became a Slytherin—mostly because Draco had seen him be friendly with the McKensey girl. As he sat down, Draco watched the older boy sit in a chair next to him. He seemed like too much of a classic American punk—spiky black hair, several eyebrow and ear piercings, and a refusal to wear the uniform correctly. Eli's tie hung around his neck untied, and instead of the traditional Hogwarts vest and white collared shirt, he had a black vest and shirt.

"So," Draco said as Eli settled down. "Welcome to the Slytherin common room." He gestured around the room. "It may not be homey, but it's functional."

Eli smiled and sat back in his armchair, draping his right leg over the other. "It's nice, I like it. It's got class."

Draco smirked. "It should. My father practically funded the whole thing." He knew he was boasting now, but after all, he was still a Malfoy. 

"Wealthy family, huh?"

"One of the wealthiest in the wizarding Britain," Draco replied smugly. 

"So you come from a wizarding family?" 

"Of course, a long, strong line," Draco smirked. "The Malfoys have always been strong wizards associated with the right sort, if you know what I mean." Eli grinned.

"Yes, my family line goes back a long way too, and can be traced back to the ancient royal families of China, even," Eli said. "Of course there were a few squibs along the way." Eli sighed and sat back in his chair. Draco watched the older boy as he continued. "Of course, my uncle turned out to be a squib. My mother, his sister, refuses to talk to him and his wife, even though they followed my family to America. It doesn't really matter to me, I hang out with Catty, their daughter that's also a muggle and Jordan, whose mother is a muggle."

"Humph, some Slytherin you make," Draco said, grinning mockingly. "Befriending mudbloods and muggles, how lowbrow." __

"Hey, mudbloods and muggles are still people too you know, and deserve equal treatment," Eli said, shaking his finger at Draco in a mock-scold. "Jordan's a good witch."

Draco straightened up when Eli mentioned his Jordan was a witch. So he _was _friends with the girl he had met on the train. "Jordan McKensey?" He asked. 

Eli looked at Draco, surprised. "You've met her?" Draco let out a hallow laugh.

"You could say that. We crossed paths on the train, quite an…interesting experience," he replied. Eli smiled and nodded.

"She seems to have that effect on people," Eli said, becoming restless and twisting the fabric of his robes in boredom. "That girl's going to get herself in trouble one day." Draco smirked.

"Especially when she walks right up and flirts with the enemy. Figuratively of course." 

Eli laughed. "She'll walk right up and tickle the sleeping dragon." Draco nodded and laughed, suddenly feeling very tired and exhausted from the day's journey from King's Cross to Hogwarts, and the grand feast that had welcomed them. 

"Well, I'll be going to bed. I'll see you before classes tomorrow," Draco said as he stood and began to head towards the boys' dormitories.

"Good idea," Eli said, standing up also and stretching, his arms reaching high up into the air and his body elongating. He was much taller than Draco. "See you in the morning." Draco nodded, and the two boys went their separate ways into their respectful dormitories.

***

_He looked down at her, this little bundle of pink flesh, dark hair, and blankets that he had produced. She was so small, so fragile. She looked up at him with large, chocolate brown eyes_, his _eyes, enough to make his heart melt. She was beautiful already._

_"Jordan," he said softly, lifting her into the air. "My Jordan, my beautiful Jordan." She giggled and a little wet tongue poked out between two tiny lips to form a baby smile. _

_And he smiled too, thinking of how they would all go back to China, and he could raise her to be like him: teach her his language, his customs, his abilities. She would grow up strong, he and Adele would raise her with all the love and care any child deserves, and she would receive the best of both their worlds. _

_He spun her and spun her, this arrow that was sent to him so he could form her and teach her everything she needed to know, everything he had to offer, and then send her off into the world again, so that she could go and influence others with her magnetic charm and her amazing intelligence. And soon he was spinning not a baby, but a little girl, full of gusto and energy._

_"Daddy!" Jordan cried, laughing as he spun her around, her dark locks of hair flying in the air freely, her dress of pink taffeta and lace floating out behind her. "Daddy! Stay with me forever. Play with me forever."_

_But her put her down. Her mother was standing beside him, and she shook her head sadly, frowning._

_"Adele…" he started, but she shook her head again._

_"No… we can't stay here… we have to go back."_

_Now he shook his head and frowned._

_"No… you can't… my plans…"_

_"I have to go. I will take Jordan with me. Nothing you can say will stop me. I have to." Jordan watched, frightened, as her father seemed to boil with rage. And with one last look at her, he turned away and stormed off. _

_"Daddy!" Jordan shouted, and she began to run after him. "Come back!" She grabbed her mother's hand and tried to pull her along, but her mother just stood there, looking down with a frozen look of horror and sadness on her face._

_"Hurry!" Jordan cried. "He might disappear! We might never see him again!" She pulled her mother's arm forward again. But still she didn't move. Jordan realized the hopelessness of the situation and dropped the unresponsive arm, which immediately dropped right back to the side of her mother's body. _

_Jordan stood frozen in her spot staring in the direction of which her father had stormed off. But all she saw was white. Everywhere around her was white, nothing had substance, there was just an endless plane of white mist. Above and below was an endless abundance of blank white space. And Jordan felt now that if she jumped, she could just fall, and keep falling and falling for an eternity… _

Jordan plummeted back into consciousness with a sharp and sad ring. Her eyes felt dry, like she had been crying, or had just woken up from a nap in the middle of the day. And she felt very, very tired, more tired than when she had been asleep. Jordan ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes, knowing that she would not be able to get back to sleep that night.

She had had this dream before, but this night it was different… Jordan could _hear _her father's thoughts. Before she could only see him, although his image was always fuzzy, and she could hear his voice speaking to her, soft and far away, she had never truly known what he was feeling.

Jordan didn't know what her father looked like. She had very vague memories of when he would read to her or put her to bed at night. Her mother had never told her anything about her father, except that he had left them when she was about four.  Whenever she questioned her mother further, she refused to answer, and Jordan stopped, afraid of opening old wounds. She knew nothing about him, what he looked like, where he came from, even what his _name _was. 

The closest thing to knowing him was through that dream. Jordan had always thought of him as a bad guy before, giving a child to her mother and then abandoning them both when he realized he couldn't handle the pressures of a child. But now in this dream, Jordan truly felt his love for her, all of his expectations. And even further, he mentioned going to China, which was even more baffling to Jordan, as she had never had any recollection of going to China, and her mother had never said anything. The ending had been different this time too, and it gave Jordan something to ponder, because never before had the dreams shown her mother as the disagreeing one. Now Jordan was even more confused as to why her father had abandoned them.

But no, Jordan didn't want to think about him now. She was in a new place, starting over. She had left behind old things, and was moving on. Swiftly, she jumped out of bed, and headed over to her trunk at the end of her bed. She undid the latches and flipped open the lid, and then dug through it until her hands came upon the soft material of the item she was looking for. Jordan pulled out two long black and red striped socks, looking at them and smiling softly, remembering their origins. They were more than what they were to the eye, as the soft cotton socks granted their wearer invisibility.

Pulling them over her arms, Jordan headed out of her dorm and the common room. 

***

Jordan had been wandering for an hour or two around the castle, looking behind every door and curtain. She watched all the portraits move around and converse with each other. Hogwarts was a much more enchanting place than she could have ever imagined, filled with old world charm. United had been new, using recent architecture with modern and functional uses, and certainly no secret passages, switching stairs or hidden entrances. Jordan mused that whoever had built this castle must have had an odd sense of humor; or things worth hiding. 

Jordan sat on the edge of a windowsill now, looking wistfully out at the lake. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting its golden rays of morning on the peaceful waters. Jordan realized that people would be waking up soon, and began making her way back to the common room. When she reached the portrait, she prodded the fat lady awake, whispered the password of "_frog slippers_" and entered the common room, silently taking off the invisibility socks. Then, more relaxed and tired than she had been when she woke from her dream, Jordan climbed the steps up to her dormitory, crawled into her bed, and fell asleep, clutching the invisibility socks under the covers.

A/N: And so ends chapter three. For anyone who cares, I think I will get the next chapter out sooner than this one came out, because school's out. ^o^ Yay! Now what I know you're wondering…yes you are…What happened to Jordan's father? What's with the invisibility socks? (And thanks to my wonderful beta reader and friend, Stacy, for giving me that idea, because she just refused to let Jordan have an invisibility cloak. ^_~) How come Eli's so friendly with the Slytherins? Who is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Find out all this and more in the next chapter of _The Sovereign Of Purity!_

The chapter has now ended.


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